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The Contact And Shared Services Industry

Contact And Shared Services

Sector Overview Wales

There are around 160 contact and shared service centre businesses in Wales employing a total of more than 27,000 people. These operations cover financial services, government, utilities, telecommunications, retail, travel and IT.

Among the blue chip players who have invested and reinvested in Welsh contact centres are: ntl, HBOS, Zurich and ING, and more recently Unilever, Tesco, Logica CMG and The Big Food Group. The largest sector - finance and IT - offers a wide range of activities including accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, payroll and IT services.

Overall growth of the sector has continued in recent years - it grew by 13% between 2002 and 2004 (Source: Mitial International). Factors influencing this growth include:

  • High staff retention and attrition rates well below the UK average
  • Highly positive feedback from employers on levels of motivation and commitment
  • Availability of suitable ready-to-occupy properties at affordable rates or sites for development
  • Strong local network of professional business services
  • Two highly active employer forums which provide research, benchmarking, skills and recruitment support and networking opportunities www.welshcontactcentreforum.co.uk
  • Increased collaboration with the academic sector on skills and research
  • Strong on-going public sector support
  • One of the most advanced digital telecoms infrastructures in Europe.
  • A highly advanced digital telecommunications network